Border Patrol agents located the the 2-year-old girl with five other people about 6 p.m. on Nov. 27. The group was about two miles north of the border, and some of its members claimed to be part of the migrant caravan, federal officials said.

The child was strapped to the chest of a 17-year-old boy, according to federal officials. The teen told agents the child had been with her mother the night before, but that she grew tired and had asked someone to help carry the girl.

The boy, who was traveling alone, offered to take the child while the woman rested, but while crossing the border they got separated, officials said.